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Comedian Al Franken, a longtime writer and performer on Saturday Night Live who served nearly two terms in the U.S. Senate before stepping down in 2018 amid allegations of sexual misconduct, is coming to Maine.

Frankens The Only Former U.S. Senator Currently on Tour tour will visit the State Theatre in Portland at 8 p.m. Sunday.

The 70-year-old has deep ties to Maine. His wife, Franni Bryson, is from Portland (the couple met while at Harvard University in the early 1970s), and they visit at least once a year.

Franken, a Democrat, had an interest in politics and public policy long before his successful run for the U.S. Senate in 2008. Now that hes transitioned back to comedy, politics anchor his performances even more.

Franken spoke this week about his two careers, his family in Maine and the situation in Ukraine. He wouldnt answer questions about the circumstances of his departure from the Senate. The following interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Q: Whats it been like touring at this particular moment in time?

A: Well, theres different things happening. You know, were on COVID time, were now on World War III time (chuckling). I was supposed to start this leg of the tour in January. We had to postpone a couple shows in northern California because omicron was peaking then But Portland, Im really happy about, because I have a lot of family there. My wifes family is all there, and I love Maine.

Q: Do you find that people are eager to laugh again in a public setting?

A: We havent been able to do that until recently and I think its always kind of, whenever youre in a theater and theres people, its a bit of a celebration anyway, but especially now. People are very happy to get out.

Q: When you were in the Senate, I expect you had to work hard to shed the label of that SNL comic and be taken seriously. What was the transition like back to being a comedian? Was this always something you expected to do?

A: I really hadnt thought that Id be coming back to private life, so to speak, so soon, but thats where I started, was comedy, and I value it very highly, especially satirical comedy.

But I had never done standup as a single. I used to do it with my partner, Tom Davis (a fellow Minnesotan who like Franken was an original writer on SNL), but its a different beast when youre up there alone.

Q: Is your comedy more political now than in the past, because of your experiences in the Senate?

A: I talk a lot about my time in the Senate and give you some background and peeks into what the Senates like. Thats not a small part of it.

Q: Anything on Maines senators (Susan Collins and Angus King, with whom he served)?

A: I dont talk too much about that (in shows), but I may a little. I told Angus (King) Im coming, and he said Well, how do I go? And I said, Well, Ill send you two comps. And then he writes back and says, You know Im a U.S. Senator, and I cant take them. I said, Good, then buy the expensive seats.

Q: Did you leave any tickets for Sen. Collins?

A: (long pause) Ah, no. No.

Q: Is it harder right now to do comedy given everything thats going on in the world?

A: That stuff has always been fodder. Im sort of a satirist, so on SNL, I wrote, with other writers of course, a lot of the satire. So that was part of our toolbox, what was happening. Even now, Im thinking, well, what I am going to say about Ukraine? How am I going to approach that?

But it is hard in these days where satire is supposed to be about pushing boundaries. Good satire always has. You talk about George Carlin, Richard Pryor, people like that, and now its comedians are finding it harder in some ways. A lot of comedians I know wont do colleges.

Q: What are your thoughts on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky who, like you, was a comedian?

A: Hes doing great now. I loved when we offered to get him out and he said, You know, we need arms, not a ride. I just think the bravest people in the world are Jewish comedians who go into politics. Theres only two. (Franken is Jewish.)

Q: With your family connections in Maine, do you visit a fair amount?

A: We visit pretty much every year. My wife her four siblings, three sisters and brother, are in the Portland area and mom, my mother-in-law, is 99, and shes the family hero. I talk about her a little bit. Shell be embarrassed, but I dont care. Shes amazing. A remarkable story. Her husband died in a car accident after doing two shifts at the paper mill. He fell asleep and hit a tree, leaving my mother-in-law widowed with five kids, age 7 to 3 months, and thats why shes our hero.

Q: Are there specific places you go when in Maine?

A: We usually almost always go to Two Lights (State Park in Cape Elizabeth). When we come up, we eat a lot of lobster rolls. We just do. In summers, we go to Higgins Beach (in Scarborough).

Q: You hinted recently you might be interested in returning to politics. How different is the landscape now?

A: Its actually gotten uglier, which is hard to believe. When I was in the Senate, (Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell, he told his caucus, our job is to make sure Barack Obama gets nothing done, he filibustered executive appointees, and that started the destruction of the Senate as far as Im concerned. Now, you know, Trump is sort of the end result, I think of the Palins, the Hannitys, the Tucker Carlsons, Rush Limbaugh, the Tea Party, they finally got everything they wanted. They are authoritarian. Thats what theyve turned into as a party. Its always been there, but now its the top of the Republican Party.

Q: You mentioned Tucker Carlson, a part-time Maine resident, any more thoughts on him?

A: Hes been giving aid and comfort to one of the worst people in the world, to Putin. Its deeply disturbing. And its deeply disturbing that hes the most popular host on their primetime schedule. The others arent so great either, but Tuckers smart enough to know what hes doing.

Q: With all the podcasts out there, why did you decide to start one?

A: I think Ive carved out my podcast I do kind of public policy thats funny and fun to listen to. I care about this stuff about whats really going to make peoples lives better.

You think about my mother-in-law (Franken started to get tearful). Sorry. What made her life possible was Social Security survivor benefits, Pell grants for her kids, Title I. She got a GI loan to go to college, she teaches at a Title 1 school, she gets her loans forgiven. These things are important. It means stuff to people. And it kills me that it doesnt seem to mean stuff to the Republican Party at all.

Q: Do you think people have an understanding of what to expect at your show?

A: It depends on whether you do your job. I dont think they know exactly what to expect, but I dont think theyre surprised by anything. Theyll be surprised by some things, but theyll be comedic surprises. The show is funny. Thats the intent. And people really like it.

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Ahead of Portland show, Al Franken talks about his Maine connections, comedy and current events - Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel